Wonder Vegan

Tahini meatball freezer casserole

Photo by Bethany Fehlinger

Previously published on No Sweat, York

If your life is like mine right now, you barely remember to eat dinner after getting home from work.

We go from unearthing fall and winter clothes during an Indian summer day to everything orange, yellow and red and Halloween costumes and decorations.

Then, in a blink of an eye, we are finagling road trips for Thanksgiving feasts and/or stocking the pantry for the big day.

Then, we will be bundling under large jackets, furiously shopping for holiday gifts, and grumbling about how cold it is and we can’t wait for summer.

Wait, what about dinner?

I’ve learned a new trick to help out my limited budget and schedule: freezer meals. I recently found two, new-to-me blogs: Budget Bytes and Vegan in the Freezer. These gave me a ton of inspiration for what I can do when I get a few hours, in order to free up the time between getting home and my head hitting the pillow. I can even get my significant other to cook it in the oven, so dinner is hot and ready as soon as I step in the door.

This recipe was actually inspired by a Food.com blogger Christine who make a creamy chickpea and tahini casserole. I substituted a few ingredients for what I had on hand: pasta, fresh tomatoes and Gardein meatballs (on sale at Target!), and eliminated a few spices I did not have.

This is such a versatile dish that you can create a variety of sauces and mix and match grains, protein and veggies. Let me know what inspiration you get from this recipe.
Tahini meatball freezer casserole
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 Gardein meatless meatballs
• 1 box of trio noodles or other small noodles
• 5 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 to 3 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of water, and follow directions to cook pasta until al dente. Drain and cool.
2. Heat up meatballs in a microwave-proof bowl until able to mush the balls. Break up until consistency of ground beef.
3. Chop veggies.
4. Mix tahini, water and spices until well mixed. Set aside.
5. Spray 9×13 pan with olive oil.
6. Dump all ingredients into pan, first placing some noodles in the pan, adding tomatoes and meatballs and then half of the tahini mixture. Add remaining noodles and sauce.
7. Stir until all the noodles are coated.
8. Let the pan completely cool, then place lid on and put it in the freezer.
9. When ready to cook, place pan in the refrigerator for about 7 to 8 hours. An hour before cooking, take it out and place on the counter.
10. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take off lid and place foil over pan. Cook for about 45 to 50 minutes or until center is warm.